One heck of a Roller Coaster Ride!

By On June 25, 2012 · 30 Comments · In Life, Misc

Hello my dear friends and readers!

This is just a quick shout out to with my thanks, love and gratitude to all who have sent their love and support to me (yet again!) via twitter, FB and instagram on the Boy.

For those who are in the dark, here’s a summary of what happened to us in the last week.

I am sharing this story with you, so that you learn to recognise the symptoms, and not to leave things too late!

Remember, if in doubt, head into the emergency ward immediately. The worst that can happen is for the Triage nurses at the Emergency Ward to tell you that you are being a bit of a hypochondriac and you should go home.

*Warning – you may not want to read on it if you are icky about detailed accounts of sickness

So late Tuesday night (last week), the poor Boy fell rather ill but thought nothing more about it. He complaint of sharp pains in the middle of his tummy and thought that he had contracted gastro.

He spent that night throwing up 3-4 times.

In the morning, as I got ready for work, I made him promise to book in an appointment with our local GP to see what was wrong.

When he went in to see his GP, the diagnoses was that it could be either mild gastro, constipation or at the very worst case, appendicitis.

He prescribed the Boy with some anti-nausea pills and told him to get some hydralite to keep hydrated and go home for some rest.

At this point, the Boy was having a mild fever and decided to take it easy and pop some Panadol.

As I was a bit worried with him, I rushed home during lunch time to find him shivering and shaking with fever in bed.

Unknown to the both of us, his appendix had apparently ruptured and was already being infected (which was why he had a fever, as his body was fighting the infection).

He kept reassuring me that it was probably just a really bad gastro he contracted and he wasn’t too clear on how bad the pain in his abdomen was.

For the rest of that Wednesday he was wavering in and out of fevers and kept complaining it was cold.

On Thursday morning, still not quite happy with his condition, I decided to stay home to monitor him in the morning.

At around 10am, his condition still showed no signs of improvement and that’s when I decided to force him to the Emergency Ward at Monash Medical, Clayton.

He finally relented (which scared me a bit, as that meant he was really not feeling well) and I bundled him up and off we went. The pain he had felt in his centre had by now moved to the lower right side of his abdomen (near the pelvic region).

When we got to the Triage nurse (the counter where they assess the situation before putting you on the wait list to be attended), his fever had broken again, and he showed no signs of a temperature. However, I described his symptoms as best as I could and managed to get into the waiting list.

We were told we had to wait 3.5 hours before we would be attended (joys of public hospital). After 2 hours or so, we were called in and the Boy was examined. At this stage, his fever was back and was reading at 38.9. The nurse took blood samples from him and we were left alone for a bit.

After what seemed like an eternity, he was moved to one of the waiting areas for the doctor to assess him. At around 2.30pm, we were told that by the doctor that he needed the day surgeons to come around to check if it was really appendicitis or something else.

At this stage, I had requested a drip for the poor Boy as he was looking quite pale as he hadn’t eaten in more than 24 hours. They also gave him some Panadol for the pain.

The day surgeon came by and did some physical examinations on the Boy and told us, that it was quite likely an appendicitis, and that it had probably ruptured which meant he needed to be operated on as soon as possible. His white blood cell count (WCC) reading was also off the charts, reading at 23 (normal reading for a healthy person is below 11). So it was likely, something nasty was going on.

Not once did anyone mention to us, that before any surgery a patient is required to fast for at least 6-8 hours beforehand. Never having experience any form of surgeries, the Boy and I were clueless about this rule as well. So, when one of the PSAs came by around 5pm to hand out sandwiches as it was tea time and when I questioned her if it was alright for the Boy to eat, she said, “Yes, he can eat”.

I realised that I should have checked with a further 2-3 other people before following her instructions, but I was tired and worn out and wasn’t thinking too clearly at that stage, so the Boy ate half a sandwich.

At 6pm, one of the nurses arrived and announced that they would have to put the Boy through surgery in the next 5 minutes. She began running through the usual questions of allergies, name, food and did a double take when we responded “yes!” to the “have you eaten anything?” question. From there, both the doctors, head nurse, nurse and examiner came by to check on him and to tell us off for allowing him to eat something. The finger-pointing began, and it ended up being “the patient’s fault”. However, all water under the bridge and we had to move on.

So, we were told that he could no longer be operated upon and he had to wait a further 6-8 hours before anything further could happen and that the next likely operation would happen at 8-9am the next morning.

In all that hoo-ha, I managed to get the Boy transferred to Jessie McPherson (the private wing attached to Monash Medical) as our basic Medibank insurance covered appendicitis. So we moved the poor thing to more comfortable surroundings due to my negligence and bungle up of his food.

At 9.30pm, I left for home, as there was nothing more for me to do except wait for his surgery the next morning. At 3.50am I received a messaged from the Boy saying he overheard the doctor say that his blood cultures had come back positive and he may have to go into surgery. At 5.45am his day surgeon rang to say that he was currently in the operation theatre.

His appendix had ruptured and was gangrenous and had started to infect his blood. They had to rush him for surgery as there was signs of blood poisoning. He would also be required to stay at the hospital for a further 48 hours. With that in mind, I packed his clothes and rushed in only to find that he was still at the operating theatre waiting to be transferred back into his ward.

However, all was well and the surgery was successful. I can only give thanks and say a little prayer that it wasn’t anything worst (apparently when an appendix ruptures, it can get quite dangerous and infect the other organs surrounding the area, which may then have to be cut out to prevent further spread of infection).

I have to commend the surgeon for his wonderful work as well as the amazing nurses at the Jessie McPherson Ward 51 area. They made his stay and treatment the last few days so much easier with their confidence, attention and warmth.

The Boy came home today, he still has a way to go in his recovery, but one little step at a time. I am just glad he is home now in comfortable surroundings. He is still not 100% but he seems much chirpier to be out of the hospital (who wouldn’t?)

So if you made it this far down my long-winded story, I applaud you.

The moral of the story is, if you’re unwell and in pain seek medical advice ASAP and head to Emergency if you are not satisfied.

Also get yourself private insurance. Trust me, it’ll be worth it in the long run.

For now, I’m going to wake him up for his antibiotics dose and then head to bed. I’m exhausted but happy that it’s all for the best :)

Love and Peace.

I-Hua

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30 Responses to One heck of a Roller Coaster Ride!

  1. Michelle says:
    June 25, 2012 at 10:22 AM

    Oh no! That all sounds really serious and I would have freaked out if I was in your position, but you handled it all really well. I hope the boy gets well soon. You take care too! :)
    Michelle recently posted..Kokoro Ramen

    Reply
  2. lotsofcravings says:
    June 25, 2012 at 10:39 AM

    glad to hear hes on the way to recovery. got my appendicitis removed when i was much younger, very glad that i wasn’t asked to go back home and rest when i went into my GP and instead went straight to surgery that afternoon.
    lotsofcravings recently posted..The Sharing House @ South Wharf, Melbourne

    Reply
  3. Michelle says:
    June 25, 2012 at 11:11 AM

    gosh, i did not know that a rupture appendix can cause so much of issues! why did his appendix ruptured by the way?
    Michelle recently posted..Good friends are the best therapists.

    Reply
  4. April says:
    June 25, 2012 at 1:42 PM

    So glad that everything worked out in the end. Thanks for sharing the story so hopefully it can help someone else.

    You’re such a good fiance :) Wishing the Boy a speedy recovery xx
    April recently posted..Photo Sundays: South Wharf Promenade Progressive Dinner

    Reply
  5. Daisy@Nevertoosweet says:
    June 25, 2012 at 3:50 PM

    Oh my gosh! That must’ve been so scary for you :( I remember having a similar experience but thank gosh mine was just a really bad case of Gastro but still I was admitted into hospital :(

    I’m so glad the operation was a success and the Boy is feeling much better ~ Hope he gets well soon and will be painfree :)

    You’ve gotta take care of yourself too I-hua! I know how easy it is for ‘carers’ to forget about themselves and only worry about the ‘patient’ so remember to eat well and rest well!
    Daisy@Nevertoosweet recently posted..Truffle Eggs – Maling Room

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      June 26, 2012 at 8:10 AM

      I am not sure why, but I wasn’t too scared at the time? Maybe it was the adrenaline rush.. looking back at it now, and it does sound scary!

      Reply
  6. CheezyK says:
    June 25, 2012 at 4:46 PM

    Oh my goodness, roller coaster ride alright! Glad to hear that you’re basically out the other end of it. I can’t believe that between the doctors and the hospital they let it get that far though … when my man went in with no other symptoms but the pain (it was really weird he had no nausea, no fever, nothing) they jumped all over it ‘just in case’, both our GP and the hospital left us with the impression that they take no chances because it is potentially so bad.

    Best wishes to both of you for the recovery period.
    CheezyK recently posted..Let’s Dance to Joy Division …

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      June 26, 2012 at 8:11 AM

      Hmmm… our GP isn’t very “aware” if that’s the case. I heard from several doctors that he should have sent us straight to emergency because the symptoms were there!!

      Reply
  7. Fatboo says:
    June 25, 2012 at 4:55 PM

    That actually sounds like a close shave. I’m glad you made your decisions right and the boy got treatment on time. Wishing him a fast recovery.
    Fatboo recently posted..Wealth Garden Chinese Restaurant

    Reply
  8. Hannah says:
    June 25, 2012 at 8:46 PM

    SO MANY HUGS. So glad things are okay.

    Also, I swear, the 50 page report I wrote in the past 36 hours? It’s about issues with medicines use/managing medicines in hospital for culturally and linguistically diverse Australians. I really, really want to add your story about the sandwiches and the “patient’s fault” thing, which makes me furious!

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      June 26, 2012 at 8:13 AM

      HUGS BACK… you know my dear, that happens pretty often the blaming game. But it’s only human error and we are all guilty of it. Think about it, public hospitals mean long hours and hundreds of patients, so you might have thought you told one patient something but it had actually slipped. I am in no way excusing them for the miscommunication, but have to consider that things happen but all else in the process were smooth and ultimately they did the best they could for him. POSITIVE THOUGHTS!

      Reply
      • Hannah says:
        July 6, 2012 at 12:54 PM

        That’s really lovely. And, absolutely, I’ve always taken that approach in my personal life; my cousin and aunt are nurses and try so very, very hard to make things better for their patients, but hospitals are horrifically understaffed. It’s wonderful that you can stay positive even during the icky part of experiencing it! xoxo
        Hannah recently posted..Black Forest Cake Truffle Bites, High-Raw and Vegan

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  9. Vien @ We Dare Food says:
    June 25, 2012 at 11:06 PM

    oh goshhhh that sounds really serious! Hope he’s resting well and feeling better! :)
    Vien @ We Dare Food recently posted..Chawan, Publika

    Reply
  10. Miss Kimbers @ Fruit Salad and Mixed Veg says:
    June 26, 2012 at 5:53 AM

    Woah that is some story! Good that everything worked out in the end!
    GPs. Yep. Useless! They always seem to brush you off without doing any proper tests. I asked for a ‘checkup’ at the GP last week and she looked at me like I was high on drugs. Why would anyone want a checkup? Maybe to have a blood test and see if everything is normal. Ugh.
    I was thinking of cancelling my PHI but I think I will keep it now:)
    Miss Kimbers @ Fruit Salad and Mixed Veg recently posted..Appin Corner Cafe, Appin

    Reply
    • Ms I-Hua says:
      June 26, 2012 at 8:14 AM

      Yeah.. I’m not sure what it is with GP’s but even hospital doctors don’t take them seriously, which is a bit sad. I hope he (the GP) gets more useful since we need to go seem him this morning as the Boy’s temperature is back!

      Reply
  11. angela says:
    June 27, 2012 at 2:21 AM

    Blimey, that sounds like a close shave. A ruptured appendix is so dangerous. Hope the Boy’s recovery is speedy :-)

    Reply
  12. Winston says:
    June 27, 2012 at 2:47 AM

    It’s really really good that you’re sharing this post with us. You know, I was telling my friends at lunch on Sunday too about what you shared about The Boy’s unexpected condition and it really raised our awareness to never take healthy issues for granted!! Especially with symptoms SO common, yikes! But glad that everything is in the clear now he’s such a trooper. He’s so lucky to have you to sayang and take care of him lah haha….

    Reply
  13. Agnes says:
    June 28, 2012 at 8:12 PM

    Poor Gazzie. Can’t wait until he’s recovered and back on Instagram again. We’ve all lost our most engaged follower. ;)
    Agnes recently posted..Besito

    Reply
  14. Julie says:
    July 5, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    hope he recovers quickly! You are a gem for taking care of him. Didn’t know how much a roller coaster it must of been for you. Really appreciate you sharing this with us!
    Julie recently posted..Mr Hive’s Kitchen and Bar

    Reply
  15. Thanh says:
    July 18, 2012 at 9:43 PM

    Thank goodness Gaz is ok. You can thank Maz and I for urging you to take him to hospital by shouting us a lunch at Spice Temple yum cha. Kthxbai.
    Thanh recently posted..Newmarket Hotel – Excellent Latin Food

    Reply

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